Circular knitting machines of the interlock type have a rotating cylinder with grooves around the periphery thereof and cylinder needles disposed in these grooves for vertical movement therein. Such interlock knitting machines further have a rotating dial having radial grooves therein and dial needles disposed in these grooves for longitudinal mechanical movement.
There are two types of positional relationship of the dial needles and cylinder needles in conventional circular interlock knitting machines. One of these two types is referred to as rib butting and, in this type, the dial needles and cylinder needles are alternately arranged such that the dial needles' path of travel does not intersect the path of travel of the cylinder needles or vice versa. The other of these two types is referred to as interlock butting and, in this type, the dial needles and cylinder needles are arranged in completely confronting positions with their respective paths of travel intersecting.
In jacquard knitting with the rib butting type of interlock circular knitting machines, the heads of the cylinder needles selected for movement to the knitting or tucking positions will not collide with the heads of dial needles also selected for movement to the knitting positions because the cylinder and dial needles will move past each other. Needle collision is therefore not a problem in jacquard knitting on interlock circular knitting machines of the rib butting type.
However, needle collision is a distinct problem in jacquard knitting on interlock circular knitting machines of the interlock butting type. Accordingly, jacquard knitting on interlock circular knitting machines has heretofore been restricted to such machines of the rib butting type. Jacquard knitting on interlock machines of the rib butting type has several disadvantages and deficiencies. For example, such jacquard fabrics frequently have a see-through characteristic which permits under-yarn loops on the back of the fabric to be seen from the front between the yarn loops forming the face of the fabric. Further, with such rib butting type of interlock machine, a laterally-striped pattern will frequently exhibit a wave effect in the lateral stripes. Still further, fabric flexibility is limited.